1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflatable toy that incorporates features which provide amusement before, during and after the toy is inflated from a collapsed state to an expanded state, and that has a self-inflating action which is triggered by a predetermined stimulus such as the striking of a blow to the toy to rupture an internal barrier that separates chemicals which, when mixed, generate a gas that pressurizes a sealed interior chamber of the toy to effect its inflation.
2. Prior Art
Inflatable toys are known that are designed to be shipped in a collapsed, basically deflated state, and inflated either by a retailer or by an end purchaser. The major reason for shipping such toys in a deflated state is to minimize occupied volume so that a maximum number of the toys can be packaged in a minimum of space for shipment and storage.
Some known types of inflatable toys are intended to retain their inflated state substantially indefinitely once they have been inflated. Others are provided with valves of various sorts to enable the toys to be deflated, re-inflated and/or supplementally inflated.
It has been proposed to provide inflatable toys of various forms with outer surface formations that define entertaining features such as deformed or grimaced facial features and the like. It also has been proposed to use thin, pliable, resilient materials to form these entertaining outer surface features. Some proposals call for the entertaining features to vary in configuration or prominence depending on the degree to which the toys are inflated, i.e., the extent to which internal chambers within the toys are pressurized.
Self-inflating articles of various types also are known, typical among these being toys such as figurines, and flotation devices such as rafts, life preservers, and the like. Some of these articles utilize canisters of pressurized gas that are opened to effect inflation. Others utilize chemical reactions of various types to generate pressurizing gases.
Previously proposed self-inflating articles are not intended to be "entertaining" or "amusing" before or during inflation, but rather are shipped and stored in a deflated state to minimize the space they occupy, and are provided with self-inflating capabilities for convenience in effecting relatively rapid inflation without requiring the expenditure of significant effort or the use of auxiliary equipment. By way of example, passengers who are fleeing a sinking conveyance find the inflation of a life raft "interesting" only to the extent that the inflation process takes place rapidly so as to provide for their escape--the hope being that the raft will inflate with dispatch, not that it will inflate in a manner that is "amusing."